Sunday, June 14, 2015

Civil Rights, Then and Now

50 years ago this summer, Martin Luther King spoke to over 10,000 people on the Winnetka Green about the racially exclusive nature of Chicago's northern suburbs. Evanston, like other suburban communities continues to struggle with this contentious issue, especially the effect of affordable
housing on racial diversity.

As part of the 2015 Justice Project, Evanston Public Library is proud to partner with Open Communities on Becoming a Welcoming Community: Then and Now, a panel discussion of the history of fair and affordable housing in Evanston, and what is being done currently to make Evanston a fair and welcoming community for all. We'll be speaking with representatives from Open Communities, the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors, the City of Evanston and the Evanston/North Shore NAACP.

We're looking back on Freedom Summer with several Civil Rights themed book discussions in June and July. Tuesday of course we're discussing Stokely , Peniel Josephs' acclaimed critical biography of the civil rights and Black Power leader. On Wednesday, the History group looks at one of Thurgood Marshall's early cases in Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, And finally, on July 15th the History and African American Literature groups come together to discuss Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America,  a memoir of neighborhood segregation in Chicago. All 3 books are available at the 2nd floor desk of Evanston Public Library; call 847-448-8620 to get your copies.

African American Literature Discussion: Stokely

titleTuesday, June 16, 7 pm, Small Meeting Room, Main Library
Preeminent civil rights scholar Peniel E. Joseph presents a groundbreaking biography of Stokely Carmichael, arguing that the young firebrand's evolution from nonviolent activist to Black Power revolutionary reflected the trajectory of a generation radicalized by the violence and unrest of the late 1960s. Fed up with the slow progress of the civil rights movement, Carmichael urged blacks to turn the rhetoric of freedom into a reality, inspiring countless African Americans to demand immediate political self-determination.




History Book Discussion Group: Devil in the Grove

title
Wednesday, June 17, 7 pm , Seminar Room, Third Floor, Main Library

Before Thurgood Marshall would argue Brown v. Board of Ed in front of the Supreme Court that he would go on to join, he led the legal defense of four young black men falsely accused of rape. Gilbert King's Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, a gripping account of that case, was awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.




Becoming a Welcoming Community 50 Years Later

title
Thursday, June 25, 7 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library
50 years ago this summer, Martin Luther King spoke to over 10,000 people on the Winnetka Green about the racially exclusive nature of Chicago's northern suburbs. Evanston, like other suburban communities continues to struggle with this contentious issue, especially the effect of affordable housing on racial diversity.
Evanston Public Library is proud to partner with Open Communities on a panel discussion of the history  of fair and affordable housing in Evanston, and what is being done currently to make Evanston a fair and welcoming community for all.
Speakers:
Gail Schechter -  Open Communities
John Fuller - Evanston NAACP
Lin Ewing - North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors
Sarah Flax - Evanston Housing and Grants Administrator

 

title History /African American Literature Book Discussion Group: Family Properties


Wednesday, July 15, 7 pm , Seminar Room, Third Floor, Main Library

Chicago became the most segregated city in the north as a result of a complex system of legal discrimination and financial exploitation.  In Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, historian Beryl Satter tells the story of this system and those who fought it, including her father, in this fascinating mixture of urban history and family memoir.
In this special event, the African American Literature and History book discussion groups join forces for this program in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's visit to the North Shore and the North Shore Summer Project.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Stokely= Malcolm + Martin?

Martin Luther King was  the preacher of nonviolence and integration, Malcolm X the prophet of  black self defense by any means necessary. And then there was Stokely ,the linchpin connecting them, who supported nonviolence as a practicality yet, coined "Black Power"; Stokely, who believed in black economic independence, but within an international,  Pan African framework. All three were full of contradictions, all three were challenged by each other. Yet two are icons, while Stokely, the only one of the three to live past age 40, is largely forgotten.

Peniel Joseph grapples with the legacy of Stokely Carmichael in Stokley: A Life, our AAL discussion for Tuesday June 16th. How did his Trinidadian roots shape his economic and political philosophy? How did he influence both King and Malcolm? And is it ironically the absence of violent death at a young age that has caused his fall into obscurity?

Join us next Tuesday at 7:00 pm as we explore the fascinating story of Stokely Carmichael, aka Kwame Ture. For a copy of the book, call 847-448-8620.